1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to the field of radiant heating devices. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus that thaws a product with infrared energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Health care facilities use medical products, such as plasma, Fresh Frozen Plasma, blood, and the like, at surgery centers and urgent care facilities. It is a common practice to freeze the product in its sealed prepackaged plastic pouches for storage, and thaw it when necessary. The prior art describes a wet-bath heating system for thawing the frozen product. A health care professional places the frozen product into a temperature-controlled water bath to thaw it to a liquid state. After thawing the product, a health care professional removes it from the water bath, and places it in a temperature-controlled area for use anytime during the next twenty-four hour period.
The prior art wet-bath heating system has certain flaws. Since these prior art systems submerge the medical product in the water bath, there is contact between the heating system and the product. This contact provides the potential for system contamination. If the water bath is contaminated with bacteria, even though the plastic pouch provides a barrier against direct contamination of the contents of the pouch, water from the bath may seep into contact with an inlet end of a connector tube for the pouch. Bacteria in or near a connector tube creates the possibility that when the connector tube seal is punctured, the contents may contact the bacteria, thereby contaminating the contents. A prior art method avoids this class of contamination by placing the pouch to be thawed inside another pouch. Unfortunately, this solution may increase the time required to thaw the contents due to the increased thickness of the plastic in the double-walled pouch, and the double-walled pouch configuration may cause the inner pouch to float. Another drawback of the prior art wet-bath heating system is that if pouch ruptures, the water bath is contaminated and must be sanitized before it can be used again.
Infrared radiators (emitters) use electromagnetic radiation to transfer heat from an energy source to an object. The transfer of the heat occurs without the need for any contact between the emitter and the object, or any transfer medium between the emitter and the object. The wavelength of the infrared radiation ranges from 780 nm to 1 mm, with mid-infrared in the range from 780 nm to 1400 nm, medium infrared in the range between 1400 nm and 3000 nm, and far infrared or dark emitters for everything above 3000 nm.
Thus, there is a need for a heating device that utilizes infrared energy to thaw a product, reduces the time to thaw the product, and maintains separation between the heating system and the pouch to reduce the potential for contamination. The present invention addresses this need.